South Europe
A very variable plant.
S. a. intermedia (intermediate). l. more wrinkled, and sometimes slightly woolly beneath. A large form. (S. B. F. G. 100, under name of S. sibirica.) S. angustifolia (narrow-leaved). fl. shortly pedicellate; corolla purplish, glabrous or slightly pubescent, the tube shortly exserted; whorls remote, two-flowered; racemes over 1ft. long, nearly simple. July. l. linear, entire, serrated, or the lower ones pinnatifid, all acute at apex. Branches twiggy, diffuse, several feet long. h. 9in. Tauria, 1823. Hardy sub-shrub. (S. B. F. G. 180.) S. arenaria (sand-loving). fl., calyx four lines long; corolla purplish, pilose outside, twice as long as the calyx; whorls loosely six to ten-flowered, remote; racemes loose, ascending, nearly 1ft. long. July. l. sub-sessile, oblong-linear or lanceolate, 1in. to 1 1/2in. long, acute, slightly serrated, long-narrowed towards the base, entire. Levant, 1804. Plant decumbent. (B. M. 1959.) S. aspera (rough). fl. sessile or nearly so; corolla purple or rose-red, glabrous throughout; spikes usually much interrupted. Summer. l. oblong-ovate to oblong-lanceolate, 1 1/2in. to 4 1/2in. long, acute or acuminate, rather obtusely serrated, nearly all distinctly petiolate, and truncate or merely sub-cordate at base. h. 2ft. to 4ft. North America and Japan. Plant sparsely hirsute or hispidulous-pubescent. (L. B. C. 1412.) S. Betonica (Betony). Bishop's-wort; Wood Betony. fl., calyx lobes spinescent; corolla red-purple, hairy, 3/4in. long, the tube exserted; whorls in an oblong, long-peduncled spike, 1in. to 3in. long. June to August. l. petiolate, oblong-cordate, obtuse, 1in. to 4in. long, deeply crenate; cauline ones few, much narrower than the radical ones. Stem 6in. to 2ft. long, ascending or erect. Europe (Britain). This plant was formerly much used in medicine. (Sy. En. B. 1067.) SYN. Betonica officinalis.
S. coccinea (scarlet).* fl. generally distinctly pedicellate; corolla scarlet-red, with a narrow, cylindrical tube twice or thrice as long as the calyx; spike interrupted. Summer. l. ovate-lanceolate with a cordate base, or oblong-deltoid, obtuse, crenate, 1in. to 2in. long; cauline ones slender-petiolate; floral ones sessile. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Texas to Arizona and Mexico, 1798. Greenhouse herbaceous perennial. (A. B. R. 310; B. M. 666; P. M. B. viii. 101.) S. densiflora (dense-flowered). fl., calyx teeth spiny; corolla flesh-coloured, twice as long as the calyx, villous outside, the tube incurved; spike dense, thick, 1 1/2in. to 2in. long. June. l. petiolate, ovate-oblong, obtuse, 2in. to 3in. long. crenate, wrinkled, cordate at base; lower floral ones constantly ovate and scarcely sessile. Stem erect, 1 1/2ft. high, nearly simple. South Europe, 1759. Plant hairy. (B. M. 2125, under name of Betonica incana.) SYN. Betonica hirsuta.
S. germanica (German).* fl., calyx teeth longer than the tube; corolla pale pink, variegated with white, 1/3in. long; whorls four to six-flowered. April to November. l. coarsely crenate-serrate, often cordate; radical ones 2in. to 5in. long, rather long-petiolate; cauline ones shortly petiolate, ovate-oblong or lanceolate. Stem 1ft. to 3ft. high, very stout, branched. Europe (Britain). A shaggy perennial. (B. R. 1289; F. D. 684; J. F. A. 319; Sy. En. B. 1068.) S. grandidentata (large-toothed). fl., calyx teeth somewhat spiny; corolla violet, glabrous, twice as long as the calyx; whorls six-flowered, remote.